Watch Out for the Cute Robots! They’ll be the End of Mankind!

“Reben wanted to design a robot that could approach people and get them to answer interview questions on camera. But he also needed the robot to be inexpensive, rugged, and lightweight. Amazingly, simply making the robot adorable solved all these problems at once.”

“Boxie just wanders around somewhat helplessly, its cardboard head wobbling and its toddler-like voice plaintively calling out for attention, waiting for a human to come rescue it. Which humans inevitably do: The attraction to cuteness is written into our very gene. Once the robot has snared someone’s attention, it continues pulling the psychological levers of cuteness to get people to help it do its job. Boxie is supposed to ask people questions on camera, but a low-angle shot from the floor isn’t very useful; so Boxie asks to be picked up like a baby and set on a table “so I can see you better.”